English grammar question
English grammar question
Author
Discussion

Louis Balfour

Original Poster:

28,176 posts

246 months

Saturday 30th December 2023
quotequote all

Which, if any, of these phrases is correct?

Paul said, “she’s tall”, the other person disagreed.

Paul said, “She’s tall.” the other person disagreed.

Paul said, “She’s tall.” The other person disagreed.

Paul said, “She’s tall,” The other person disagreed.

I have an opinion, my teacher missus has an opinion, my student children concur with our opinion. Chat GPT disagrees with us all.

Radec

5,429 posts

71 months

Saturday 30th December 2023
quotequote all
Isn't it the first one?.

Matt Harper

6,952 posts

225 months

Saturday 30th December 2023
quotequote all
None of them.
The correct construction is:
Paul said, "She's tall, innit bruv".

Wacky Racer

40,723 posts

271 months

Saturday 30th December 2023
quotequote all
What is your opinion?

I would say 2

Roofless Toothless

7,163 posts

156 months

Saturday 30th December 2023
quotequote all
The third. Commas and full stops come before the quotation mark.

(I think.)

popeyewhite

23,008 posts

144 months

Saturday 30th December 2023
quotequote all
None - they all look clumsy. Small s and . for the win.

Digger

16,197 posts

215 months

Saturday 30th December 2023
quotequote all
Third one?

silentbrown

10,516 posts

140 months

Saturday 30th December 2023
quotequote all
If you're writing for someone who's anal about this stuff, best rule is to sidestep the problem.

Paul said she's tall, but the other person disagreed.

Louis Balfour

Original Poster:

28,176 posts

246 months

Saturday 30th December 2023
quotequote all
I said this one:

Paul said, “She’s tall.” The other person disagreed.


One of my children said this one:

Paul said, “She’s tall.” the other person disagreed.


Chat GPT agreed with me.

Child argued with Chat GPT, who now agrees with them, on the basis that the speech is a sub-sentence and "the" is a continuation of the sentence.



ATG

23,101 posts

296 months

Saturday 30th December 2023
quotequote all
silentbrown said:
If you're writing for someone who's anal about this stuff, best rule is to sidestep the problem.

Paul said she's tall, but the other person disagreed.
Paul said that she was tall, but the other person disagreed.

thebraketester

15,560 posts

162 months

Saturday 30th December 2023
quotequote all
Paul said, “She’s tall"; the other person disagreed.

ATG

23,101 posts

296 months

Saturday 30th December 2023
quotequote all
Louis Balfour said:
I said this one:

Paul said, “She’s tall.” The other person disagreed.


One of my children said this one:

Paul said, “She’s tall.” the other person disagreed.


Chat GPT agreed with me.

Child argued with Chat GPT, who now agrees with them, on the basis that the speech is a sub-sentence and "the" is a continuation of the sentence.
You were right. To make it into a single sentence you'd use a conjunction, but it would read awkwardly.

TooLateForAName

4,914 posts

208 months

Saturday 30th December 2023
quotequote all
of those, the first. But they're all poor.

Also chatgpt is not in any way to be trusted as a source of expertise.

paua

8,000 posts

167 months

Saturday 30th December 2023
quotequote all
How tall is Paul? Numbers matter. wink

Sporky

10,629 posts

88 months

Saturday 30th December 2023
quotequote all
I claim no great expertise, but the comma after "Paul said" irks me. I would think a comma generally indicates a pause in the sentence.

Louis Balfour

Original Poster:

28,176 posts

246 months

Saturday 30th December 2023
quotequote all
TooLateForAName said:
of those, the first. But they're all poor.

Also chatgpt is not in any way to be trusted as a source of expertise.
Agreed on both counts.

I agreed to apply my sage-like wisdom to the problem on behalf of someone else, who is arguing with a solicitor about it. So the problem is what it is, we cannot reframe it.

Someone, somewhere, is paying £400 per hour +VAT to be involved in this argument.


WrekinCrew

5,512 posts

174 months

Saturday 30th December 2023
quotequote all
Third but without the comma.

Louis Balfour

Original Poster:

28,176 posts

246 months

Saturday 30th December 2023
quotequote all
WrekinCrew said:
Third but without the comma.
Hmmm you need that because it is reported speech.

Radec

5,429 posts

71 months

Saturday 30th December 2023
quotequote all
Paul said "she's tall", the other person said "they're all the same height, when laying down".

TedStriker

306 posts

66 months

Saturday 30th December 2023
quotequote all
Why the comma after 'Paul said'?